Need You Like I Do
by alayahchanel
Summary: After a hard year all Rachel Berry wants is to forget. Hanging out with her brother and his street racing friends helps her do that. Puck knows he has to stay on top of his game for the biggest race of his life. But when his best friend's sister comes home the distraction is welcomed. The two unknowingly form a deep bond making them question everything they thought they knew.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Here's a new idea I came up with. Enjoy!**

 **Plot: After a hard year all Rachel Berry wants is to forget. Hanging out with her brother and his street racing friends helps her do that. Puck knows he has to stay on top of his game for the biggest race of his life. But when his best friend's sister comes home the distraction is welcomed. The two unknowingly form a deep bond making them question everything they thought they knew.**

Chapter 1

Rachel shifted in the leather chair as she glanced at the clock. The hour of therapy was always the longest hour of her life. Sure, she had gotten used to it but that didn't make it go by any faster.

Dr. Armstrong smiled at her. "So this is a happy occasion. You're finally going home, how do you feel?"

"Fine I guess," Rachel shrugged. When she noticed Dr. Armstrong waiting for the truth she sighed. "Fine I'm kind of nervous."

"What makes you nervous? I thought you missed your family?"

"I do but the last time I saw them my dads were treating me like some fragile piece of glass that would break if they showed any kind of emotion about me being here. Even my brother watches what he says to me which he never used to do."

Dr. Armstrong nodded in understanding. "Well they've come a long way since all of this first started. All of you have been able to acknowledge that you needed help and now that you've received it, you all will be able to move forward."

"I just don't want anyone treating me differently. I'm still me."

"As long as you assure them of that, you shouldn't have a problem. You just have to be patient."

"I guess."

"You'll be meeting your dietitian regularly so she can make sure that you're staying on the right path."

"Great, someone else to keep an eye on me," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Something tells me you'll find a way to cope," the doctor smirked. "You managed here."

"More like I got used to it. Now I have to get used to this new schedule."

The older woman frowned slightly and leaned forward. "I know returning home is always the hardest part. You're back in the real world, you'll need the structure that you had here and your fathers sounded very determined to make sure that you have that. This is a big step but you've made a lot of progress. I believe you're ready."

Not being able to help herself, Rachel cracked a small smile. She liked that it was known that she had been making an improvement. It made her feel like her time away from the world was worth it. It didn't ease her fears about going home but it made her feel a little more at ease with the decision.

Later that day, her dads came to get her. Despite everything that's happened, Rachel couldn't deny that when she hugged them, nothing felt like it changed.

She looked in the backseat and frowned. "Where's Sam?"

"He said he had a test he had to study for with Finn and that he'll be home by the time we get back," Leroy rolled his eyes. "So we'd better get going to see if we can hold him to that."

She nodded before getting in the car. She knew her brother well enough to know that he wasn't studying at Finn's. He was with his other friends probably planning a race. She remembered when she would be so against what he did but now, it didn't seem to matter anymore. At least Sam was doing something he felt happy doing.

The ride home was filled with her fathers telling her all the new things that have been happening and their excitement with having her home. The nerves that Rachel had been feeling about going home started to subside but came back once she saw Sam's car in the driveway when they pulled up. Her dads may have been happy about her return but how would he feel?

When she went inside, Hiram called for him. "Sam! Come downstairs."

After a moment, Sam ascended down the stairs and stopped to stare at Rachel. Her heart pounded with anticipation until he finally smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"Good to have you back," he told her. "Do me a favor and don't leave me stuck with Dads by myself again."

She giggled. "I guess being an only child isn't what you expected?"

"Definitely not. Especially when they kept trying to get me to watch operas with them. I almost died of boredom."

"Very funny," Hiram replied sarcastically. "Why don't you help take your sister's bags upstairs while we get dinner started?"

Sam grabbed the bags and carried them up the stairs as Rachel followed, slowly refamiliarizing herself with her home. Everything looked the same but she couldn't bring herself to look at the photos of her when she was younger. It felt like that girl had died and she wasn't sure if she could ever be her again.

Once they were in her room, she let out a sigh of relief to be back in her space. After setting a bag down, she looked at Sam. "So how do you really feel about having me home?"

He rolled his eyes. "How did I know you would ask that? I really am glad you're home Rachel. This past year has been brutal, you know that."

She nodded in understanding. Oftentimes she and Sam were all each other had because their fathers worked so often and when she went away, he probably felt like he was alone. "I'm sorry."

"Don't. You don't need to apologize for anything. It's over now and we can move on and get back to normal."

Seeing that he clearly didn't want to talk about what happened she decided to let it go for now. "So how's Finn?"

"He's good," he replied before looking at her. "You know I wasn't with Finn don't you?"

"Duh I haven't been away long enough to forget your go-to excuse," she replied. "How is everything?"

"Good, there's a race tonight so after dinner I'm going to need you to cover for me."

She hesitated. Normally she would stay at home and be the perfect daughter but perfect was the last thing she felt. She wanted to let go of everything that's happened but it was going to be hard. Making some changes would be good. "I want to come."

"Seriously?" he raised an eyebrow. "You hate the whole street racing thing."

"Well things change." Seeing his hesitation, she pulled her best puppy eyes. "Please it'll be easier to get out of the house if I come too, plus I want to see Quinn."

"Fine but don't even think about touching a car. And you're definitely not going looking like a patient," he replied, glancing at her outfit.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Trust me I will definitely change before we go."

"Sam, Rachel come help with dinner!" they heard Hiram call. They went downstairs as Rachel thought about what would happen that night at the race. Sam driving always made her nervous but now, she just wanted a distraction. That was exactly what tonight was going to bring.

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

Dinner was just as Rachel expected. Everyone was eyeing her as she picked over the food on her plate. It was torture. She knew this would happen but part of her hoped that everything would go back to normal. It was stupid of her to believe that it would

After dinner was finished, Rachel tried to ignore the fact that her dads were keeping an eye out to make sure she wouldn't go to the bathroom and throw it back up. When she noticed Sam preparing to leave, she felt relieved and immediately changed into some regular clothes before following behind him.

"Where are you two heading?" Leroy asked.

"I thought Rachel and I could go hang out with some friends for a bit since she's home now."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hiram asked, raising an eyebrow. "Rachel shouldn't be overwhelmed, it's only her first night back."

"I can handle it," she replied. "Please Dads?"

The two men looked at each other before finally giving in and nodding as Leroy spoke. "Be back by midnight and be safe."

"Always," Sam told him. As they went upstairs, he looked at Rachel. "Are you sure you want to come? I know the racing thing isn't really your scene."

"I told you I want to come. I just need something that will distract me from dinner and…you know."

Understanding what she meant, he nodded. "Okay let's go."

As Sam drove, Rachel stayed silent as she tried to figure out what was on his mind. Sam normally talked to her about anything that was bothering him but she assumed that wasn't the case anymore. Not after everything that's happened.

When they got to the site, they got out and went over to everyone. As they approached, Rachel felt her stomach turn. Everyone knew about what happened to her and she knew they'd be surprised to see her home. She just hoped they wouldn't be as weird to her as her family.

When Quinn saw her, she immediately smiled and went to hug her. "Oh my God, you're back. Sam didn't tell us you were coming home."

"He didn't?" Rachel asked, looking at her brother.

He shrugged. "I didn't think it was information worth mentioning since you don't really like hanging out here."

Seeing the hurt across Rachel's face, Quinn shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is you're finally back and I finally have some better company. Being stuck with these guys hasn't been all that fun."

Appreciating Quinn's effort to make her feel better, Rachel smiled. "I'm sure they got pretty boring sometimes."

Before Quinn could respond, a car pulled up and Puck got out of the driver's side. "Okay who's ready to lose?"

Everyone laughed as he walked over to them. Rachel looked at Sam. "Noah's racing tonight? Against who?"

"Rick Nelson so this should be interesting," he smirked.

Puck walked over to them and froze when he saw Rachel. "Rachel. You're here."

"I am," she replied and looked down, nervously. Puck may have been Sam's best friend since middle school but that didn't mean that she and him were close. If anything, Puck always shunned her because of how much she protested against the street racing scene. She expected him to make a sarcastic remark about her being there but when it didn't come, she was shocked.

Instead, he nodded. "Cool. You can watch me win this."

As he walked away, Quinn looked at Rachel. "Are you okay? You seem like you're in shock."

"I am. Why would Noah be okay with me being here?" When Quinn hesitated, she frowned. "Quinn tell me."

"Well for starters, he _was_ there when you…you know. Then when you went into treatment Sam kind of took it really hard so Puck took it upon himself to be there for him to keep him from doing something stupid. I guess Sam shared with him some of the stuff that happened that led up to it so he kind of has a soft spot for you now. He even stood up for you when Santana and some of the other cheerleaders were making fun of you."

"Wow that's…different."

"Who knows, maybe you got yourself another bodyguard. As if Sam wasn't enough," she joked as everyone started gathering for the race.

As Puck and Rick prepared to drive, Rachel couldn't get Quinn's words out of her head. Sam took her going away really hard. Probably harder than he'd let on. No wonder he didn't want to talk about any of it.

A girl went and stood in front of the cars and raised her arms. As soon as they dropped, tires squealed and exhaust filled the air. As she watched the race, Rachel was surprised about how invested in it she was. While she wasn't sure how the entire thing goes, she had to admit it was exciting.

"Go Puck!" she heard Sam yell, bringing her out of her thoughts. "He won."

As Puck drove up and got out, Rick got out of his car fuming. "You cheated."

"Or I just have incredibly great racing skills and you can't handle it," he smirked.

"There's no way that piece of junk could've beaten me. Typical Puck, always looking for the easy way out instead of actually earning it. Just like your lowlife father."

Puck's smirk was wiped off his face as he grabbed Rick and threw him against the car. Sam pushed Rachel and Quinn back as Puck's fist connected with Rick's nose. Rick's head snapped back on impact and as blood sprayed, Rachel felt her stomach drop. She wasn't used to seeing Puck so angry and it wasn't something she enjoyed seeing.

Finally, one of the guys broke it up and pulled Puck off of Rick. As he backed away, Rick wiped his nose and glared at him.

"Tell you what. Last day of school, we race again. Longer distance but different location. Then we'll see who's better. Winner gets three hundred bucks."

Liking the sound of it, Puck nodded. "Piece of cake."

"One more thing: I win, you spend the summer being the janitor at the country club. It'll be fun seeing you in your future job."

"Too bad that won't be happening. I look forward to kicking your ass again."

"Don't count on it," Rick replied before walking away.

Sam walked over to Puck. "Hey are you sure you want to do this race? I mean I know you won tonight but you have to admit, your car is lagging a bit."

"It'll be fine by the time the race happens. I just have to get in some races and make some money to fix it up in the meantime. I'll figure it out."

"You always do. I'll help you with whatever you need."

"Great." As Sam started talking to Quinn, Puck walked over to Rachel. "So what do you think of your first night out here?"

For a moment, she forgot how to speak and was unsure if Puck was even talking to her. When she noticed his eyes on her, Rachel cleared her throat. "I think you're going to need some ice on that hand."

Looking down at his bruised hand, he nodded and grinned. "You're right. Care to be my nurse?"

Her eyes widened in shock and felt her throat go dry. If she was unsure of what to say before, she was definitely stumped now. "Um, I-"

"Sam," Puck said, getting his attention. "I'll take Rachel home if you want."

"Rachel are you okay with that?" Sam aske his sister.

Finally finding her voice, she hesitantly nodded. "Yeah sure. I'll cover for you with Dads if they're up."

He nodded and went back to talking with Quinn as Puck started walking towards his car. Rachel followed him and as they left, she couldn't help but feel tense. Even though she's known Puck for years now, she hasn't ever really been alone with him until now.

"So what'd you really think of the race?" he asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"I think you could've gone without the fighting."

"Other than that part."

She shrugged. "I thought it was pretty cool I guess. You're pretty good."

"Thanks." He hesitated before speaking again. "So, uh, how are you?"

By the tone in his voice, Rachel knew he didn't mean it in a casual way. "I'm home which is what I've been wanting so I guess I'm good. Look, I know Sam took it hard when everything happened so I want to say thank you for helping him and looking out for him."

"Hey I just wanted to make sure he didn't do something stupid that would get him sent away too," he replied. When he noticed Rachel frown and look away, he sighed. "I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's fine. What I did was stupid and pretty humiliating."

"Don't think of it like that. You were sick and now you're better."

She stared at him in confusion. "I don't understand, why are you being so nice? This is the most we've ever really spoken."

"Which is kind of sad don't you think? I mean you're my best friend's sister. I've known you for years and we never really talked. Maybe we should change that."

Rachel thought about this. She hadn't thought about having much of a social life when she came home but she knew it was part of recovery so she nodded. "Maybe we should."

As Puck pulled up in front of her house, he looked at her. "So I guess I'll see you around."

"Will you be okay?" she asked, motioning to his hand.

"Yeah I'll be fine. I'll give you a pass on being my nurse for the night but if I ever need one again, you'll be the first one I call," he winked.

Rachel felt her face redden as she got out of the car. As she got inside and heard Puck drive off, she couldn't get over the tone of Puck's voice. Like he was flirting with her. But he couldn't be. Who would be interested in her with all of her baggage?

 **Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! First I want to say RIP to Mark Salling. He clearly had issues but I do feel bad for his family to have lost him in that way. Because Noah Puckerman is just a character I will continue writing Puckleberry and hope you all will continue to read and enjoy them. Now onto the story!**

Chapter 3

As she walked into school a week later, Rachel took a deep breath. She had tried to convince her dads to let her be homeschooled for her junior year but they weren't buying it. They, along with her therapist, felt that she was ready to return to school. After reaffirming her meal plan with her dietitian, Rachel finally felt like she was ready. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she did miss school.

"You okay?" Sam asked, looking at her.

"Yeah I'm fine," she quickly nodded. "Just nervous that's all."

"Hey everything will be fine. I'm here to help and Dads made it so that we have the same lunch so I'll be there too."

She frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize they did that."

"Rach it's fine. I actually volunteered to do it." When she looked at him confused, he sighed. "Look I knew coming home meant you were going to need all the support you could get and I just wanted to make sure you know I'm here for you. With whatever you need."

Rachel gave a small smile at her brother's encouragement. "Thanks Sam. I really do appreciate it."

"Of course."

"Hey guys," Quinn smiled as she walked up to them. "Ready for the day?"

"I feel like I'm the new kid," Rachel admitted. "Everyone's already been here for a month and I'm just starting."

"Hey everything will be fine. You just have to take one step at a time right?"

"Right," she nodded, remembering her therapist's words. She noticed Sam and Quinn smile at each other but stayed silent as the bell rang. As she and Quinn walked to class, Rachel glanced at her. "Hey what's going on between you and Sam?"

"What do you mean?"

"You two have been giving these subtle smiles to each other lately and when we were at the race you seemed really into him."

Quinn hesitated. "Well I am. Into him I mean."

"Really? Does he like you?"

"Yeah, he does," she answered. When Rachel stayed silent she frowned. "Oh no you hate me don't you? Look the only reason we didn't tell you was because we weren't sure how you'd react and we didn't want to upset you or anything."

"Quinn relax. I'm happy for you two."

"Really?"

"Of course. Just promise that if things don't work out our friendship won't be ruined."

"Promise," she smiled as they reached their class.

As she went throughout the day, Rachel could feel all eyes on her. It shouldn't have been surprising that everyone would be talking about her being back but it didn't make it any easier. Having Quinn by her side helped but unfortunately Quinn wasn't always around.

By the time lunch came around, Rachel didn't have it in her to sit in the cafeteria and be a spectacle so she went and sat outside in the courtyard. She knew Sam would be looking for her but she felt like she needed the air.

As she sat on a bench, she noticed Puck flirting with a cheerleader and tried to ignore the distaste she felt. Of course he wasn't flirting with her the night of the race. They haven't even spoken since then so why should she care that he was paying attention to another girl? Not that it would've mattered anyway. She was still in recovery, she couldn't handle a boyfriend right now anyway.

"Rachel?" a voice said, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Puck standing in front of her.

"Oh hey Puck," she smiled, trying not to make it obvious that she was staring.

"Shouldn't you be at lunch? Sam said he was supposed to be eating with you."

"Yeah, I'm not really in the mood to be around everyone in the cafeteria. I thought I'd eat out here."

Puck nodded and sent a quick text to Sam letting him know where Rachel was while she wasn't looking. "Mind if I sit?"

Shocked, Rachel shook her head as he sat down. "I didn't mean to interrupt what you were doing."

"Don't worry about it. So how's it feel being back in school?"

"Like I'm an animal in a zoo exhibit honestly. Everyone's looking at me and whispering about me. I expected it but it just feels weird."

"Anyone actually say anything to you? You know Sam and I will go after them."

She smiled. "Thanks but I'm fine. No one has said anything to me directly and besides, I don't want you or Sam getting into any trouble."

"Hey you know that's what we're best at," Puck smirked. "All those times we got into trouble when we were kids and you always tried to cover for us."

"Yeah because I didn't want Sam in trouble. I didn't care much about you."

"Ouch," he laughed. "Should've known that though, seeing how I was always the one to get us into trouble to begin with."

Rachel giggled, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach when she heard his laughter. She didn't understand what was happening but she knew it couldn't be good.

Before she could respond, Sam came outside and looked at her. "Hey you okay?"

"Yeah just taking a break from being the latest animal on display."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at Puck who shrugged. "Everyone's been paying her extra attention today."

"Oh well we knew that would happen. Don't let them get to you."

"I'll try," she nodded.

"Well since you guys have everything settled I'm going to go see if Rebecca Harrington wants to have a little fun before lunch is over," Puck said as he stood up.

Rachel frowned as she watched him walk away. Once again she got her hopes up in thinking that Puck was interested in her when he was actually just being nice.

"Rachel," Sam said, getting her attention. "Not trying to be like Dads but…"

She saw that he was motioning to her untouched lunch and nodded. This was her life now. She had a routine to stick to and that couldn't be messed up with fantasies of her and Puck. No matter how great those fantasies were.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Puck sighed as he left his usual hiding spot after hooking up with Rebecca. Normally he would've been feeling on top of the world but he just wasn't into it today. He hated to admit it but part of him felt guilty for running off on Rachel and Sam. As much as he wished he could've stayed, he knew that it wasn't his place. Rachel had clearly been through a lot and needed her family more than some guy she's barely ever spoken to.

After school, he walked into his house and found his mom in the kitchen.

"Noah is that you?" she called.

"Yeah it's me," he replied walking in. "Where's Sara?"

"Over a friend's house for a little bit. How was school?" she asked as she started cooking dinner.

"School pretty much."

"I heard that Rachel Berry is back. How is she doing?"

"She's okay I guess. I haven't really talked to her," he lied. The last thing Puck needed was his mom questioning him about his interactions with Rachel, especially since one of them happened to be after a race.

"Well I hope she's doing well. Eating disorders are no joke so it's a good thing she got help. I hope you're being nice to her."

"Well like I said, I haven't really talked to her. Just Sam and he says she's still getting used to being back home but they're trying to get everything back to normal."

"I'm sure. Make sure you tell her I said she's welcome here anytime if things get too intense at home."

"I will," Puck replied before taking his stuff upstairs.

As he got settled in, he thought about his mother's offer. He wasn't sure how he felt about having Rachel over. They were never close to begin with so it's not like she'd consider coming here as a safe place. Still, that didn't keep his mind from thinking of all the possibilities that could happen if they got closer.

 **Looks like feelings are developing! Let me know your thoughts. Bye for now :)**


End file.
